Antibiotics have been used against various pathogens including bacteria. However, more people have been recently died for infection with pathogens such as various bacteria (so-called super bacteria) being tolerant to various antibiotics that are used at present.
For example, the death rate of people with clostridium difficile infection (CDI), one of digestive infection, due to bacteria tolerant to metronidazole and vancomycin, which are antibiotics have been used from the past, has been increasing, and it has become an issue usually in developed countries, but there have been some cases even in our country. The patient compliance is another problem in treatment with antibiotics against infectious diseases and there are some cases that patients cannot take an antibiotic or are allergic to an antibiotic. Accordingly, there is a need for developing a treatment capable of replace antibiotics to treat diseases due to pathogens.
Further, considering the fact, which has been found in recent years, that metabolites produced by a change in the types and number of intestinal floras is associated with the reasons for diseases such as diabetes, malignant diseases, and chronic colitis, there is a need for developing a treatment for adjusting the types or number of intestinal bacteria.
Meanwhile, the PDT (Photodynamic therapy) and SDT (Sonodynamic therapy) using light and ultrasonic waves, which are treatments used against malignant tumors or local bacterial infection, treat pathogens using photosensitizers (PS) having specific wavelengths, in which reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced by the action of light or ultrasonic waves and PS and damage cell walls, cell membranes, or nucleic acid, thereby achieving germicidal and antitumor effect.
The photosensitizer is largely divided into two types of a porphyrin PS and a non-porphyrin PS. This treatment is generally used for treatments against spatially limited infection, including dermatologic or dental treatment. Pathogens that live and propagate in clusters in human bodies are little influenced by light and ultrasonic waves, so their genes against a hurt due to light and ultrasonic waves have degenerated and almost disappeared and there has not been found a gene tolerant to this treatment.
Accordingly, the photodynamic and sonodynamic therapies against the pathogens in a human body are expected to have considerably effect and can save costs and suppress bacteria tolerant to antibiotics by reducing use of antibiotics. Further, since a PDT or an SDT is used first before administration of an antibiotic, so they can reduce at least bacterial loading and can reduce the death rate due to bacterial infection with an economic effect by being used with antibiotics.
In general, capsule endoscopes that are inserted into a human body have been used only for diagnosis. Such capsule endoscopes have been disclosed in Korean Patent Application Publication Nos. 2004-0108277 and 2010-0069192.
Therefore, the applicant(s) proposes a capsule endoscope that can be used not only for diagnosis, but for a treatment of local bacterial infection, small and large intestinal diseases, chronic inflammatory intestinal diseases such as ulcerative colitis or a crohn's disease, diabetes, and digestive malignant diseases, through a photodynamic and sonodynamic therapy.